Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1299286
OCTOBER 2020 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 47 are some big players and important people who understand the value. One of the things we've always preached is doing things right the first time and doing things with the best materials possible because you can't sustain business do- ing things a second and third time. The people at the EIPC conferences grasp and understand that aspect maybe more than some others. Starkey: I've always been very impressed by the two sides. On the one side is the quality of the presenters, but on the other side, the cali- ber of the audience. It's a well-balanced setup. Monn: Again, especially as boards get more and more complex, and their material bills get more and more expensive, yields and doing things right the first time become even more impor- tant. That message that we've been trying to deliver becomes more relevant every day. Starkey: Going back to the crack-resistant white solder mask, how is it printed and cured? Monn: The nice thing about it is that it's still photoimageable, which is a trick in itself. As far as application, it was very important that we had multiple application technologies, so this product can be screen-printed or sprayed. It works very well, either way. And then it's a simple tack dry, expose, develop, and cure just like a standard photoimageable solder mask. Starkey: Does the PCB fabricator need any ad- ditional equipment to process this material? ...as boards get more and more complex, and their material bills get more and more expensive, yields and doing things right the first time become even more important. Monn: You hit on all the major factors. You ab- solutely spelled it out, and that's why it's re- ally great to have people working in our lab who are a lot smarter than me who can fig- ure out how to create something that will stay white, not crack or break down, and stay con- stant through the CTE mismatches, as you mentioned. Starkey: But these people in the lab rely on people like you as the interface between them- selves and the customer. You need to talk to the customer, find out what the customer re- ally wants, and to back to the development people and say, "These are our requirements. These are the challenges we want you to ad- dress." Monn: That's where Taiyo is very fortunate to have opportunities to go to the EIPC confer- ence or IPC APEX EXPO and to do interviews with I-Connect007 because that gets the word out. OEMs listen to this and realize, "If I don't talk to my suppliers and tell them what I need, how are the manufacturers going to know what to design and make?" Starkey: You can't do your product develop- ment on spec. You have to do your product development focused on what the market's demanding or what challenges the market is looking for you to overcome on their behalf. Monn: Exactly, and that's where, instead of me running around the country or around the world talking to one OEM at a time, the confer- ence gives me an opportunity to have access to people and see them. Starkey: At the conferences, you've become quite famous as a presenter. And I've certainly had a lot of experience of the European confer- ences where you're presenting to an audience of perhaps 120 top people from the industry who are hanging on every word you say. Monn: The EIPC conference gives me a great format to speak, and I truly appreciate it. But what I really like is, as you mentioned, there